Today, as you probably know, is the third round of voting for the Conservative Party's leadership election. By roughly 6pm this evening, the choice should be whittled down to just two by MPs and then the Conservative party at large will get to decide who will lead them to failure in the next general election.

Last week, the once powerful Marconi (formerly GEC) suffered a humiliating share collapse following an unexpected profit warning. The company's operating profit has been jumping each year from 1997 as CEO Lord Simpson turned it from a large lumbering giant into a lean, mean telecoms machine.